


When Two Suns Touch

by ashtraythief



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Bottom Jensen, Knotting, M/M, Minor Violence, Public Sex, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2013-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-06 07:26:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1104066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtraythief/pseuds/ashtraythief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jensen is human, Jared isn’t. Mixing their two species is much too dangerous, no matter how much they might want to. Everything changes the day Jensen is abducted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Two Suns Touch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [firesign10](https://archiveofourown.org/users/firesign10/gifts).



> Written as a gift for [](http://firesign10.livejournal.com/profile)[**firesign10**](http://firesign10.livejournal.com/) in the [](http://spn-j2-xmas.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://spn-j2-xmas.livejournal.com/)**spn_j2_xmas** exchange. I tried to include as many of your likes as I could. My attempt at sci-fi turned out more space-y, I hope you still enjoy it. Happy holidays!

 

The two suns were almost touching in the sky. The day of the kissing suns was still a few days away, but they were close now. Jared sighed. It was the one day of the year his people got married, mated, tied the knot, whatever you wanted to call it. Of course the suns never really touched, that would have destroyed their solar system, but from down here, it sure seemed like they did.

So, on this special day, when the suns’ power ran hot through all of their veins, Jared’s people danced around the fires in the city’s square, drank and kissed and fucked and mated. The new couples and the ones celebrating years of being together; everyone who had a better half.

Jared looked over to where Jensen was negotiating with a woman over the price of a beautifully decorated dagger. The light was playing on his short hair, illuminating the light brown with golden notes. He was smiling at her, that charming grin of his that was just as much a part of his success as his actual craftsmanship was.

Jensen’s family had come to Silex three generations ago, during the third exodus of Earth. Jared’s people had a lot of space, and apart from a small minority, they’d shared it willingly. Their species looked and behaved similar enough to insure a mostly smooth cohabitation.

The only problem was, they weren’t suited to mate. Well, for most people it wasn’t actually a problem. Jared was one of the very few poor schmucks unfortunate enough to fall in love with a human. What made it worse, he was pretty sure Jensen loved him back. Most people would celebrate finding true love and being loved back, but things weren’t that easy. Cross-species pairings didn’t work. They could never mate. During the traditional bonding ritual, Jared would most likely kill Jensen, and if not, he’d probably leave enough injuries to permanently cripple him. And with Jensen being human, they could never form that link between mated pairs, the sharing of emotions and thought concepts, being able to feel each other when apart. Jared would be blind and deaf in their relationship, something that would drive him insane every second Jensen was not within sight.

Others had tried before, had formed relationships between human and Lupi - and they were all doomed to fail. There was, of course, the possibility of the change.

Jared stared back at Jensen. He had made the deal now, giving the woman the dagger and receiving a handful of coins. She said something then that made him laugh and with the usual pang of jealousy came the longing, when Jensen threw his head back and laughed with his whole body. The urge to go over there and touch him, kiss him, was so strong Jared had to walk away.

The chances of Jensen surviving the change were too small to even suggest it. No, Jared would just have to pine for the rest of his life.

 

 

 

Jensen looked up in time to see Jared walk away. For a moment he indulged in staring at broad shoulders, then he went back to his merchandise spread out in front of him. His last customer had bought the only Ilidian blade he still had, and since handmade daggers had become the latest fashion recently, he’d have to go into the mountains soon to get more of the rare metal. Well, at least it was something to take his mind off Jared.

He stayed at the market for a couple of longer hours, selling a few more pieces, before he decided to go home. He had moved to Ulfur, the Lupi capital a few years ago, because it was the best place to sell the weapons he made. It was an old craft, something his family had done back on earth generations ago, but here on Silex it was almost unheard of,and strictly speaking not really necessary. Why have a spear when you could kill anything you wanted with a laser gun?

But with the intergalactic war breaking out a few years back, because of some claim for totalitarian rule by a distant Emperor, the trade routes had dried up. Since the technology for high tech weapons had never really come to Silex, just the products, people were returning more and more to the times of pre-intergalactic trade. Considering an emigrated human made the weapons they purchased in their reversion to traditional values, was a bit bizarre, but Jensen could roll with it. Others had picked up the craft, but no one was as good as he was. His grandpa had always said ‘you have to let the metal speak to you’, and Jensen had always been good at listening.

When the first sun had set and dusk descended, he finally packed up his stall. He walked through the darkening streets back to the little apartment he shared with Felicia. Like him, she was human, living on Silex her whole life. They’d been sharing an apartment since the day Jensen stumbled into the city, a wide-eyed boy from the countryside, barely eighteen, but ready for the adventure of the big city.

The first thing he did, was run straight into an impossibly tall guy with almost shoulder-length brown hair. The stranger had stared at Jensen for a moment, hands gripping his arms incredibly tight, but Jensen almost hadn’t felt the pain, he was so busy staring at the guy who was just incredibly hot. And no, usually Jensen wasn’t that shallow. But when it came to Jared, things were just… different.

Jared was more. He wasn’t only taller, stronger, and louder. His presence could fill a whole room and his smile chased every bad mood Jensen ever had instantly away. Around Jared, there was no room for anything else, and it didn’t bother Jensen half as much as it should.

Jensen had introduced himself then as soon as he regained his ability to speak, trying to give Jared his nicest smile, but the Lupus had bared his teeth at him, sharp incisors peeking out under his upper lip and had turned around to walk away.

Jensen had been so stumped, he hadn’t seen the little hovercraft coming his way. He’d been run over rather painfully by a cussing redhead, and in compensation she’d let him crash on her couch. Four years later, he had his own bed, but he was still living with Felicia.

He came home to the slightly messy apartment, but he’d learned years ago not to comment. Order wasn’t Felicia’s strong suit and Jensen usually didn’t mind all that much.

Felicia was lounging around on the couch, reading on her tab. Her little pet robot Ten - because he was the tenth of his kind, Felicia was a tad uncreative when it came to abstract concepts - was lying on her stomach, wagging his tail.

“Jensen, there you are! Where’ve you been the whole day?”

“The market. You know, some people actually need to leave their house to go to work.”

Felicia just snorted and Jensen went to heat up some leftovers.

“Did you see Jared today?” Felicia asked casually.

Jensen’s muscles tensed immediately and he forced himself to relax. “What? Why do you ask?”

“Cause you have that shoulder slump,” Felicia answered and Jensen could hear her get off the couch. “That I-just-saw-the-love-of-my-life-but-I-can-never-have-him-so-I-will-pine-for-the-rest-of-my-life shoulder slump.”

“Oh, that one,” Jensen said lightly, and went about making his food.

Felicia stepped behind him, leaning against his back, her arms coming up around his waist. She wasn’t tall, certainly much shorter than he was, but her embrace was still comforting.

“It’s not healthy, Jensen. You need to let it go.”

He laughed bitterly. “I can’t. Everytime I see him…”

“So maybe you should stop seeing him,” Felicia said fiercely and pulled away. “Jensen, there are other cities you can go. Just leave.”

“I can’t. This is my home. Besides, what would I do without you,” he said and ruffled her hair.

Felicia batted his hand away and shook her head. “What are you going to do when he takes a mate?”

Jensen swallowed. “Then I’ll congratulate him and wish him all the happiness in the world.”

“And then watch him be happy? In a relationship?” Felicia asked scathingly. “Watch him have a family and grow old with another person, eating, sleeping, celebrating their life together? See them, every year, celebrate under the kissing suns, renewing their vows? See the-”

“Enough!” Jensen’s voice was loud in their small kitchen. Ten scurried under the couch, shaking in fear. “Enough, okay? I don’t know what I’ll do then, but I’ll find a way to deal.”

Felicia looked at him for the longest time, and there was so much sadness on her face, Jensen couldn’t look at her. “Just - let’s not talk about this, okay?”

“Fine,” she said, and she was pissed, “but at least go out with Steve. He’s nice and he’s got the hots for you. And yes, I know, you don’t love him, never will, blah blah blah, but for fuck’s sake, Jensen, at least get laid. It’s getting pathetic, really.”

She left the apartment, slamming the door behind her and Jensen sighed. He knew she meant well. And it had been a while since he’d gone home with someone. Once in a while he needed a little human touch, even if it was just a meaningless fuck. He took his communicator out of his pant pocket, but he just stared at it. Tomorrow. He’d call Steve tomorrow. Tonight, he’d get drunk.

 

That night he dreamed of Jared. They were at the lake, a place they visited quite frequently in the hotter winter months. It was torture and pleasure all at once, because Jensen could ogle Jared’s almost naked body the whole time, which was great, but he couldn’t touch.

Their friends were there, laughing and horsing-around in the water. Jensen was just staring at Jared and the Lupus was staring back. Suddenly Jared was right there, right in front of him, hot breath on his face.

“I want you, Jensen. I want to eat you alive!”

Jensen woke up with a start. His heart was going a mile a minute and his dick was hard and leaking. He reached down, and he only needed a few strokes to make himself spill over his body, even though his dream had been more disturbing than hot at the end.

There were stories about Lupi and humans trying to hook up and more often than not, they ended bloody.

Humans and Lupi didn’t mate. In the beginning, Jensen had thought that maybe they could at least hook up, but Jared had refused his not-so-inconspicuous invitations, turning him down every time he made a move. Jensen hadn’t gotten it, because yeah, he’d probably be left with a few more bruises than usual and Jared might have to be a bit more careful than when he was fucking someone of his own species, but it wasn’t impossible. Jensen wasn’t particularly vain, but he knew he looked good and he’d seen Jared watching him.

So Jensen had persisted. There was just something about Jared that made him want. He couldn’t get him out of his head. Jared was without a doubt the hottest guy on the planet and Jensen had always wanted to hook up with a Lupus. It was supposed to be hard and dirty, their animalistic side coming out to play and Jensen had a thing for being fucked hard and put away wet. So, one night down at the lake, when they had been listening to music and drinking, Jensen had just sat down in Jared’s lap and kissed him.

“I’m not made of of glass, Jared,” he’d whispered, purposefully brushing his lips over the shell of Jared’s ear. “Whatever you wanna dish out, I can take it. And if I have the marks to prove it the next morning, well that’s a plus.”

Jared’s head had snapped back and he’d looked at him, gaze dark and heated. He’d hesitated for a second, then he’d grabbed Jensen by the neck and pulled him in for another kiss.

Jensen got lost in the memory, and like always when his thoughts wandered back to that particular night, his dick started hardening. It didn’t matter that he’d just come, where Jared was concerned, his dick had a mind of its own.

His eyes closed on their own accord and his hips raised up from the bed, pushing his dick through the tight circle of his fist. He remembered Jared’s hands wandering down from his neck over his back, tracing the contours of his spine until they came to rest just low enough on his hips for his fingers to tease Jensen's ass.

Jensen spread his legs, offering himself to someone who wasn’t there and remembered Jared gripping him tight and standing up, taking Jensen with him. He relived wrapping his legs around Jared’s waist; it had felt like the most natural feeling in the world. Jared’s mouth had been hot and hard on his, leaving him no room to breathe and Jensen literally had to hold on for the ride. Jared had walked through the darkness, with sure steps at first, but the longer they’d kissed, the longer Jensen had rubbed himself against Jared’s erection, the more the Lupus had started to stumble. Finally Jared had dropped him onto one of the smooth boulders lining the lake’s shoreline, panting harshly into his ear.

“Jensen… fuck, this is not - not a good idea.”

Jensen had shaken his head and pulled Jared down on him. Jared had tried to pull back, but Jensen had kissed him, sucking on his bottom lip and tangling his fingers into his long hair. With a groan, Jared had given in, leaning down and grinding their hard dicks together.

Triumph had filled Jensen, finally he’d worn Jared down.

“I just, just don’t wanna hurt you,” Jared had mumbled against his neck, trailing down hard bites until he’d reached Jensen's collarbone. “God, you taste so good, _so_ good. I can’t - can’t give this up, can never-”

Jensen remembered feeling a sharp sting on his shoulder and combined with Jared bearing down hard, putting constant friction on his cock, it had been enough to push him over the edge.

The memory of the orgasm, the picture of Jared panting over him, it made Jensen come a second time that morning.

He kept lying on his back, waiting for his heart to slow down. He tried to block out the rest of that night, but just as he couldn’t forget their first kiss, he couldn’t forget the way Jared had stared at him in something like horror. Jared had pulled back, erection still straining against his pants. He’d backed away, hands raised.

“Look, Jensen,” he’d said, eyes looking anywhere but at him, “I’m sorry, but this, us - it just won’t work. Humans and Lupi, we don’t fit.”

Caught up in post coital bliss, Jensen had rolled his eyes. “I don’t wanna marry you, I wanna fuck you. Can we get to that part already?”

Mutely, Jared had shaken his head. “I can’t,” he’d finally pressed out. “I just, I can’t. I could hurt you and this between us, it wouldn’t go anywhere anyhow and it’s just not what I’m looking for. Just, let’s forget about it.”

Jensen had never been so humiliated in his life - sprawled out and fucked out on a rock, come cooling in his pants, almost ready to go another round and Jared just _backed off_.

“So this is about me being human?” Jensen had asked him, getting up and trying to pull himself together. “Nice, Jared. And I thought you were different.”

Jared had dragged a hand through his hair in frustration. “No, that’s not it and you know it. But this won’t ever work. And I - I don’t do hook-ups, okay. To me, this would mean more, and I just… I fucking can’t okay?”

Back then, it had been okay. Sure, Jensen was left wanting and not only a bit peeved out, but he had to respect Jared’s reasoning. But they had continued to see each other. Spending time with Jared was endlessly entertaining and they’d become friends.

Jensen snorted and got out of bed, heading straight for the shower. Becoming friends with Jared had probably been the stupidest thing he’d ever done, but how the black hole was he supposed to know, that one night over a year after their initial meeting, when they were both drunk, they’d head out to one of the high rocks, watch the moons set and the suns rise and just talk for hours. They’d talked about all their secrets and fears, their hopes and dreams, about Jensen still feeling like an outsider in a home that had been his family’s for three generations, about Jared not wanting to follow his fathers footsteps as a border patroller, but going off to the sand planet instead and become a race driver. They’d talked about their first crush, about messy roommates and something missing in their life, and then suddenly they’d been nose to nose. Jensen had closed his eyes in anticipation, but nothing had happened. When he’d opened them again, Jared was lying on his back, eyes closed.

“So tired,” Jared had mumbled and then he’d softly started to snore.

It had been the proverbial nail in his coffin. If before Jensen only had the hots for Jared, his little crush transformed into full blown pining after the incident. He was in love with Jared, there was no denying that anymore, but Jared - well, sometimes Jensen thought there was something there, but it was irrelevant really. Longterm relationship between Lupi and humans didn’t work and no matter how big his crush was, he wasn’t prepared to face a ninety percent chance of dying during the change.

He felt slightly better after his shower, but thinking intensely about Jared always threw him off kilter. Usually he managed to avoid that, just like he’d avoided contact with Jared nowadays, but seeing him last night had brought back all the memories. He got himself a big cup of grain extract and put the machine on ten percent caffeine. It wasn’t real coffee, not even close to it, but it was war and trade goods were scarce. And it might be some time until Tommy and Mike would show up with a loading bay full of black market cargo.

Beeping and scratching sounds came out of Felicia’s room that doubled as her work station. Occasionally her old-school diamond drill buzzed, indicating she was fiddling with one of her commercial robots. She came out when Jensen was just about to leave, to refill her own cup.

She eyed the black slushy liquid dejectedly. “God, I need some real coffee. When did Mike say they’d come back?”

Jensen shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure, but a couple of weeks at least. Anyway, I’m gonna head out, I need new Ilidium.”

“Be careful. I heard some chatter that a band of rogues is scouring the outer mountain range,” Felicia said, worry in her voice.

“I will. Besides, I’m heading into the Umbro Hills. I found a new Ilidium line there the last time, so I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” Felicia asked. “You still have a ton of other material left you can work with, you don’t need to go out now that the situation’s heating up again. Ever since the trade routes have dried up, the rogues have been coming closer and closer to our settlements.”

Jensen snorted and grabbed his backpack. “Ilidium is in high demand. It’s the best metal for functional weapons on the planet and I’m one of the few who can process it. Besides, I still have the mini blaster you modified for me.”

“That still works?” Felicia asked with a raised eyebrow. “In this atmosphere, laser technology is usually short lived.”

“Well, then you did a good job on it,” Jensen said with a smile. He kissed her on the cheek, ignoring her disapproving scowl and headed out the door.

“At least take Ten with you,” she yelled after him. Jensen rolled his eyes, but when the little robot came out of the flap door and bounded into the foot space of his glider, he didn't protest. A bit of company might be nice, even though it was just a bouncy little robot.

 

It only took him a few hours to get out to the Umbro Hills. A couple of weeks ago there had been a rockslide during one of the frequent core shakes and it had revealed a long line of Ilidium running down the now revealed side of the mountain.

The secret to mining Ilidium was the special mercury-yttrium solution that was incredibly hard to produce and even harder to stabilize. Jensen could do it though, and when drizzled onto Ilidium, it liquified the metal into a stringy glue and could be pulled out of the rock. It had to be processed within a few hours before it would repel the mercury-yttrium mix and harden again, but Jensen planned on a late-night shift anyway.

He got out his tools and got to work.

 

 

“... and then he just climbed up that tree like it was nothing and got the little bugger down.”

Ten stared at him blankly.

“I see you’re not impressed,” Jensen said and pulled the last Ilidium cord out of the rock. “And I get it, all the Jared stories must be boring you. But I just can’t stop fucking thinking of him. And I don’t even know why today it’s so bad. Usually I’ve got a better grip on myself.”

Angrily, Jensen flung the Ilidium into the container to the rest he’d already gathered. This patch of rock had been pretty yielding so far, he wouldn’t need a lot more before he could go back home.

Jensen moved to the next vein, carefully starting to heat up a new vial with the mercury-yttrium. Ten had hoppled over to him, sitting at his feet now with a wagging tail.

“Oh now you're curious?” Jensen huffed, at Ten and at himself. The robot pet might be smart, but he was still a robot. Nevertheless Jensen found himself talking on.

“Well, you have to understand, Jared, he’s different. He just worms his way in, without you even noticing it. He smiles, and he touches you and hugs you and then you can smell him, that deep and earthy smell, with a hint of nature, and argh!”

The mix was ready and Jensen took a deep breath to steady himself, getting agitated over Jared wouldn’t help now. Carefully, he poured the liquid out again, waiting for the metal to turn into that thick stringy slush he could harvest.

“And I know it’s stupid, Jared wants long term and that can never work between us, but it just feels right with him, you know? I can’t forget that fucking kiss and how it fucking felt and -”

Ten was blinking up at him with his glowing blue eyes, and Jensen shook his head. “Thank fuck, no one can see me, they’d think I’d finally lost it. Maybe Felicia is right, I need to get away from here, from Jared. That fucking bastard, I swear, all I wanted was some great sex and he has to go all ‘oh no, we can’t, I only want commitment’? I mean, I get it, really, but I just want - something. And he wants me too, at least somehow. Do you know we almost kissed again?”

Ten tilted his head, definitely in an inquiring way.

“Oh yeah. After the greatest night of my life, we were sitting up on that fucking hill and the suns were slowly rising, and I just told him how fucking lost I feel sometimes, I bared my fucking soul to him and then we were so close and he was staring at my mouth. I swear, it was like the air was crackling and I thought, maybe I’d finally get at least, you know, _sex_ , but no, he just fell asleep. Or pretended too. I don’t know.” Jensen dragged a hand through his hair and continued to harvest the Ilidium. “He never mentioned that night again. But I know he remembers, because after that, things changed. He withdrew, you know?”

Ten hoppled closer and pressed his head against Jensen’s leg. Jensen knew Felicia had programmed him to detect emotions in a person’s voice and react accordingly, but he felt still weirdly comforted. He patted Ten’s head.

“He stopped seeking me out, only talking to me when we were all together. I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve talked to him about something personal in almost a year. And it fucking hurts, you know? I miss him. I just miss him, Ten.”

Ten beeped and nudged Jensen’s knee. That in turn made Jensen think of the day Jared had taken him out on his new modified glider, telling Jensen he’d need to feel the new improved buffers for himself. The whole trip had of course resulted in Jensen being torn between horniness and fear, sitting pressed closed to Jared’s back, feeling all the tensed muscles under his hands and against his chest, while Jared drove them through the terrain, way above the recommended speed level. The new buffers had worked until Jared tried flying over a patch of spiral plants. They had crashed rather spectacularly, and Jensen still had the scars on his calf to prove it.

“Idiot,” he muttered, latching on to the annoyance. Being annoyed was better than wallowing, Felicia told him that often enough. “Idiot!” he yelled, his voice echoing off the stones.

Ten jumped back, eyes blinking quickly.

“Stupid, overgrown, handsy, bigass fucking idiot!”

Jensen banged his scraper against the stone.

“Fucking bastard with his fucking smiles, and dimples, fucking stupid dimples. I mean, really? Dimples? How can dimples look good on a grown man, huh?”

Ten had no answer. Jensen slumped down to the ground.

“I need a fucking break, Ten. Felicia is right, this isn’t healthy. Next month, there’s a big market south of here. If I get enough product ready, I can totally go. And from there it’s not far to my parents. I could just leave for a few weeks, de-Jarefy myself somehow.”

Jensen nodded to himself and got back to work. There was still that not so tiny voice in the back of his mind, telling him it would never work, he’d never be able to forget Jared, but Jensen tried valiantly to ignore it.

“I’ll be fine. Yeah, totally. I will not pine for the rest of my life. And you know what, Ten? Tonight, I’ll start by calling Steve.”

Ten made a low beeping sound. Jensen convinced himself that it did not sound disapproving at all.

“I’ll call Steve, and we’ll have a nice night, with too much moonshine and a mediocre blowjob, and then-”

Jensen jumped back and cursed when he dribbled too much solution into the Ilidium line and it liquefied so quickly, it ran down the mountain for a moment. He hurriedly scraped it off before it could stick to the rock and he’d have to start over. He was so caught up in saving the Ilidium, he didn’t notice Ten japping until he was hitting his head against Jensen’s leg.

“Ten, what’s up? What the hell-” Jensen broke off when Ten went quiet, staring off into the wasteland. It was littered with big rocks and usually there were enough little slitherings crawling around the rocks that provided a constant level of noise, but now it was quiet.

Jensen reached into the back of his pants to get out the mini blaster. He carefully scanned the landscape. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and he spun around just in time to shoot the Lupus jumping at him. He didn’t have time to celebrate, because Ten yapped again and three more Lupi were emerging from the stones slowly, teeth bared.

Jensen slowly backed away towards the Hills, he’d be able to find shelter there. When his shoulder bumped into something, it wasn’t hard rock though.

“Hmmm, hey there sweetheart,” a low voice rasped into his ear. “Damn, you’re fine. Let’s see if this works, right?”

Jensen reached around to shoot the guy behind him, just when there was a painful needle sting in his shoulder. The Lupus behind him cried out and a burning sensation shot down from his neck throughout his whole body. He saw the other Lupi approaching in a blurry vision, heard Ten’s metallic cries and then everything slowly went black.

 

 

 

Aldis was lounging around on one of the benches in the outfit-room when Jared walked in.

“You’re here early,” Jared said.

Aldis just shrugged his shoulders and continued to fiddle with the laser-rifle’s control panel. “My gun’s been jamming, wanted to see if there’s something I can do about that.”

Jared nodded and went over to the gear rack, taking out one of the tactical belts. Before contact with the rest of the universe, Jared’s people had lived without technology and they’d been slow to adapt to the new stuff. Supplies had been thin when the intergalactic war broke out and shipments had been rare since then. It wouldn't be long until the last laser guns gave out and they’d completely revert back to spears and arrows.

For now though, Jared took a blaster rifle and a ray gun and together with some throwing stars fastened them to his belt and the cross strap running over his chest and back.

The rest of their patrol group slowly filed in, strapping on gear and collecting various weapons.

“Alright, listen up guys!” Jared called them to attention. “There have been some reports of the raiders scouring the Second Ridge. We’re gonna go there, find them, smoke them out and then chase them back out into the wastelands where they belong.”

There was a general murmur or agreement from his team. Alona and Beth were ready to go, Aldis had finished up with his gun, and Chad was already opening the gate.

“Let’s move,” Jared said and they all went to their gliders. Jared had made the rough terrain adjustments himself, and with the new stability buffers there wasn't a place on the planet they couldn’t reach at top speed. He valiantly refused to think of Jensen and the time he’d tried to show him his new inventions, only for it to fail spectacularly. Jared only blamed half of it on the tech though, the other part was his hands shaking so badly due to Jensen's proximity and him needing to suppress the urge to get a whole lot closer, that had made him over-accelerate and forget to adjust the boosters in time. Now that he had rebalanced the settings, there were no more problems though.

They were out of the city in a minute and then they were off to the Ridge. They slowed down as soon as they reached it, motion and heat sensors working at full capacity. They crossed the whole area twice, weaving around the locked farming sheds, currently not in use because it was off season. The rogues still liked to break into them, steal all kinds of stuff and generally wreak havoc with the human farmers’ stuff. It was a nuisance and not something that could be tolerated. When they had crossed the Ridge for the second time, they stopped on the highest point.

“There’s nothing here, Jay,” Chad said, the others nodding in agreement.

“The freshest tracks are over two weeks old,” Alona said, pointing towards the northern edge.

“Alright, then let’s follow them,” Jared decided. “We’ll see where they came from and where they went, maybe we run across some fresher tracks.”

They rode over to where Alona had spotted the tracks and followed them down the Ridge and over the Tesseran Slope. There, the tracks crossed over with others and led off into the wastelands, where the rogues had the camps.

“There’s another line of tracks, a fresh one over here,” Beth said, dismounting her glider and kneeling in the dark sandy ground. “Here. They came through here approximately two hours ago, I’d say.”

“Have they come back yet?” Jared asked.

Beth shook her head. “Not this way at least.”

Jared nodded. “Let’s see where they went, shall we?”

His crew grinned at him.

“Let’s,” Aldis said and Beth matched his grin.

 

The tracks led them straight into the Umbro Hills. They went into stealth mode, gliders almost completely quiet and flying slower and closer to the ground. The tracks led into an outcrop of a steep rock wall. Jared surveyed the scene, and there was something off about this piece of mountain. It took him a moment to notice the scratches in the rock wall.

He went over there, let his fingers run over the rough surface of the dark stone and the lighter veins running through it. The lighter material was smoother, had a metallic quality to it. Jared had seen it enough times lying around Jensen’s workspace to recognize it.

“This is an Ilidium field,” he called out to the others. No one answered.

He turned around and the others were standing awkwardly a few feet off to the side, eyeing the ground and the rock.

“What?” Jared asked. “What?” he repeated when no one answered.

“There was a fight here,” Aldis said. “The ground is all torn up and there at the wall are blood spatters.”

“Yeah, look, someone definitely fired a laser gun here,” Chad pointed to scorch marks running along the high boulders lying around.

Jared spun around and then he saw it, dark droplets littering the rock’s surface. He went over there and scraped it off the rock. It smelled like Lupus and human. Like a human he knew.

No. Cold fear spread through Jared’s body. This couldn’t be happening. Jensen, nothing could happen to Jensen.

He didn’t want to believe it, there had to be another explanation, maybe Jensen had left long before the rogues had showed up, but he saw it in his team’s faces.

“How the fuck could this happen, why were they even here?”

“Same reason Jensen was,” Alona said, retrieving a long metal object from behind a rock. “It’s a crude tool, but they were here for the Ilidium as well.”

“Fine, whatever. Now where did they go?”

They spread out, looking for the tracks leaving, but most of the terrain here was made of smooth rocks. Jared was going crazy, trying desperately to find even the tiniest scratch. There was nothing there, but when he walked deeper between the larger rocks, he picked up on a low beeping sound. He followed it until he found a little heap of metal lying in a shallow hole.

“Ten?”

The little robot raised his head, now hanging slightly to the left side. One of his legs was missing, but he was still functional. Carefully, Jared lifted Felicia’s little pet robot out of the hole. Ten beeped feebly, one of his eyes flickering.

“Aldis, get your ass over here!”

Aldis came running, Beth and Chad on his heels.

“Aw shit. Felicia will have a fit when she sees the little guy like that. C’mere. C’mon Jay, give him to me, I’ll see what I can do. If I can just access his memory drive…” Aldis trailed off, already getting out his toolkit to fiddle with Ten’s controls hidden under his belly plate.

Jared paced around, trying not to think what the blood and Jensen’s disappearance meant.

“He’ll be fine, Jay,” Chad said, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Really?” Jared snarled at him. “Because when have the rogues ever taken a human and not tried to turn him? They don’t give a fuck about them if they die, cause then they’re just humans, and if they change, well they have someone else to fight for their cause.”

Jared dragged a hand through his hair and tried to keep calm. It didn’t work. He couldn’t think of anything but Jensen, caught in the throes of the fever, back bowed in agony until his heart finally gave out.

“Okay, let’s move.” Jared walked over on his glider. He was going after these sons of bitches right now, and he would get Jensen back and tear them apart.

“Jay, we don’t know where they went,” Alona interjected.

“Of course we do. They got Jensen, took his tools and shagged ass back to their camp.”

“Shit,” Aldis said and then stepped into Jared’s path. “Judging by the blood, they have a head start of almost an hour. We’ll never reach them before they make it to their camp, and going into their territory with just the five of us, is suicide.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” Jared ground out. “They have Jensen and I’m gonna get him back.”

“Jay, you can’t do this. They’re gonna annihilate us. And Jensen - you know how bad his chances are,” Beth said.

Jared spun around and glared at her. “I don't give a fuck about his chances. I’m getting him back one way of another.”

He didn’t want to think about it, almost couldn’t bear it, but he knew Jensen would probably be dying by the time he’d reach him. But then he thought of Jensen’s family coming to visit him a few years back, how much longing had been in his mom’s and sister’s eyes and how much Jensen cared for them. Jared needed to get Jensen back, not just for himself, but also for his family.

“I’m getting him back to his family, one way or another. And if you wanna stay behind, that’s fine, I won’t make you come.”

“Are you kidding me?” Chad asked and mounted his own glider. “We have your back, dude.” He shot a pointed glare at the rest of them, and after a short pause, they all nodded.

“It’s crazy,” Alona said, “but Chad is right. We do have your back.”

Jared nodded and started up his glider. Time to find out if the acceleration booster he’d installed a couple of weeks ago worked long distance without burning out or blowing up.

 

They flew over the rocky terrain at top speed and when the ground evened out a bit, more scraped rocks than stoney boulders, he hit the accelerator and the other’s followed his example. Their speed almost doubled and Jared’s vision narrowed down to a tunnel view through his goggles. Usually there was constant banter over their comms, but now they were quiet.

They’d been on their gliders for almost half an hour, their engines running dangerously hot, when Beth broke the silence.

“There,” she yelled, breaking and flying a sharp turn. The others followed her.

She dismounted quickly and picked up something silvery from the ground.

“Jensen’s scraper,” she said. “And here are the tracks. They can’t be more than five minutes ahead of us, we can catch them before they reach their camp.”

Jared nodded and charged his guns. “Let’s move.”

They were back on their gliders and off in seconds. Jared eyed the temperature gauge of his glider with worry. The motor would be toast anyway by the time they got home, but he didn’t give a damn as long as it held out long enough to get Jensen safely to the city.

“Jared, there they are,” Aldis said over the comm. “We should fly a circle, ambush them…”

Jared tuned them out. The rogues’ gliders were old school, chunky pieces of shit, not like their long and sleek ones, and he spotted the one with Jensen on it immediately. He was bound at hands and feet, but not tied to the vehicle.

“Alona, you catch him,” he ordered, and then he hit the sprint booster and aimed straight for the glider with Jensen on it. Next to Jared, Alona was the fastest of his team, and the only one he could trust with this.

Alona cursed in his ear, but she followed his example. The rogues realized too late that they were being followed. Jared saw head’s turning when he was almost level with them. He fired a few shots with the laser rifle hanging over his back, not really aiming, too focused on Jensen.

He rammed the other glider at full speed. Since Jensen couldn’t hold on to anything, he flew through the air, but Alona was there to catch him. The other rogue managed to stay on his vehicle, but he lost control over it and when the craft’s gravity control was damaged, he crashed straight into the ground, the glider exploding into flames.

Jared pulled up next to Alona, making sure that Jensen was okay, and then he headed back into the fray. His team was making short process of the surprised rogues though, and he barely had to fire a shot, before all of the gliders were disabled and they were helplessly sitting on the ground. A few of the rogues were dead and the rest was injured, and Jared looked at them, one after another, memorizing their faces.

“If he dies,” he said, pointing at Jensen, “I’m going to come back and hunt down each and every one of you. And if you ever come near our settlement again, you're dead. Enough is enough. Playing nice is over, the next time you infringe on our territory, you die.”

He fired one more shot at the last semi-functioning glider, blowing it up, and then he flew over to Alona again and carefully lifted Jensen from her glider over to his. She had untied him and he was still alive, but he was pale and his heart was beating rapidly.

There was a long gash in his shirt, soaked with blood. It ran straight across his heart and when Jared pulled the fabric apart he saw the long cuts, forming an x on Jensen's skin. In the middle there was a deep indentation, blood leaking from it.

Changing a human wasn’t easy, the Lupus’s own blood had to be inserted into the human’s bloodstream close to their heart, and the rogue Lupus had done exactly that. Jared had known the rogues would’ve probably done it immediately, wouldn’t waste a second in turning Jensen, but seeing it, was still different. Sitting still, he also realized how hot Jensen was running, fever already wrecking his body.

“We need to get back,” he said hoarsely, even though he knew there was nothing anyone could do. Jensen would either survive the change, or he would die. Jared refused to think about the odds.

 

The way back to the city seemed to take forever. Their motors were so overheated, they couldn’t go at top speed. But Jared could only concentrate on Jensen in his arms. He was barely conscious, eyes fluttering weakly, while his heart was going a mile a minute. His body temperature was rising steadily, while his scent was slowly shifting from human to Lupus. He muttered meaningless sounds from time to time, hands clenching weakly into Jared’s jacket.  
  
Jared would ignore what that meant, only focusing on Jensen’s heart still beating.  
  
When they reached the medical center, Jensen was lying motionless in his arms, face reddened and breathing fast and shallow. Jared carried him inside, paying no attention to anyone, heading straight for the emergency station.  
  
Jim met him halfway, pointing to one of the empty beds at the far wall. “Put him down there.”  
  
It was hard to let go of Jensen, only when Jim gently touched his arm, did he put Jensen down.  
  
“You know there’s nothing we can do, son,” Jim said gently.  
  
“You can ease the pain,” Jared said never taking his eyes of Jensen's pale face, freckles standing out brighter than usual.  
  
Jim nodded. “We’ll do what we can. Katie, get me some pherenol over here!”  
  
Jared stepped back and watched the scene in front of his eyes. His body was numb, suddenly unable to move after all the tensed exertion before. Jim and Katie were hooking Jensen up to the monitors, inserting a central line and bringing cooling packs. Kim, the human doctor, joined them, wiping Jensen's forehead with a moist cloth.  
  
He felt his team gather behind him, but Jared couldn’t acknowledge him. Jensen was breathing his life out and there was nothing he could do.  
  
He didn’t know how much later it was when Kim returned. After giving Jensen the painkillers and adjusting the cooling packages, everyone had left. Jared had remained, standing with his back against the wall, just looking at Jensen’s face. His thoughts were a dark cloud, unable to form anything else together than his burning desire for revenge. There was a darkness spreading through him and he was going to embrace it. It was the only way he wouldn’t fall apart.  
  
Now Kim once again used a wet cloth to wipe the sweat from Jensen's forehead, but when she touched him, she hesitated. She took a fever measurer from the little table next to Jensen's bed and inserted it into his ear.  
  
“Oh my god!” she exclaimed. “Jim! Jim, get over here.”  
  
Jim had been standing on the station, and now he hurried over.  
  
“Unbelievable.” There was a smile in his voice and when Jared followed his eyes looking at the monitor he saw that Jensen's heart rate was slowing down.  
  
“What? What’s happening?”  
  
“His temperature is falling,” Kim said, relief clear in her voice. “And so is his heartbeat. It seems Jensen is one of the lucky ones.”  
  
For a moment Jared was frozen. “Are you sure?” he finally managed to get out and Jim nodded.  
  
“Yes. Slow, but steady falling of heart rate and temperature. He’ll be fine. And a Lupus,” he tacked on at the end, giving Jared a meaningful look.  
  
A Lupus. Jensen would be a Lupus. He would survive and he would be one of them. Finally everything Jared had ever dreamed of would be possible. Slowly, he stepped over to Jensen's bed and took his hand. It was warm, but not burning like before. He took a deep whiff and there it was. Jensen still smelled like Jensen, still smelled like everything Jared ever wanted, but it was like the key of it had shifted. Jensen’s scent, an enticing melody had changed from minor to major, and it called to Jared like it had never before.  
  
“When will he wake up?” he asked, not taking his eyes of Jensen's face, not as pale as before.  
  
“It’s going to take a while,” Kim answered him. “His body needs to rest, the transformation takes a lot out of someone. Especially since it’s a cross gender change. I mean, I do assume he was bitten by a male?”  
  
Jared nodded. Kim put her hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Jared. Jensen will sleep and when he’ll wake up, he’ll be a healthy Lupus omega.”  
  
Jared swallowed. In all the chaos and pain, he had completely forgotten about that. Whenever a Lupus turned a human successfully, he’d turn them into a possibly compatible mate. When a male turned a female or the other way around, it didn’t really make a difference. The male would grow a knot, becoming alpha, the female’s cycle would change to the biannual heat cycle, making her a beta. If both the lupus and the human were of the same gender, something different happened. The human turned into something they called omega. They still had all the Lupi features, but males didn’t grow a knot and females didn’t go into heat. It wasn’t about reproduction, it was about compatibility.  
  
Jensen would not only be a Lupus, he’d be biologically compatible with Jared. Everything Jared had never thought could happen, it was now within reach. The worst day of his life was turning into the best. He reached out to stroke Jensen’s cheek, finally being able to touch him without the devastating feeling of knowing it could never last. And sure, they hadn’t really spoken in a long time, but Jensen had never expressed interest in anyone else and sometimes he’d still caught the occasional look. He’d tried to ignore it, but now, he wouldn't have to anymore.  
  
Next to him, Jensen groaned softly, eyelashes fluttering.  
  
“Jen? Jensen can you hear me?”  
  
Jensen’s head turned into his direction and then he fully opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, and then his eyes focused on Jared.  
  
“Ja- what the…”  
  
“Hey, hey, don’t try to talk just yet, okay? You need to rest,” Jared said.  
  
Jensen shook his head slightly, hand reaching out, Jared took it and soothingly stroked his hand.  
  
“But, what, Jared, what-”  
  
Jared couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Jensen was a stubborn bastard, of course he wouldn’t let it go, even half out of it.  
  
“Okay listen. You were out in the Umbro Hills, looking for Ilidium. A pack of rogues assaulted you and one of them tried to change you.”  
  
Jensen’s eyes widened in fear, but Jared squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it, you had the fever, but you’re fine now. You changed and you survived!”  
  
Jensen was still looking at him, completely confused. “What? How?”  
  
“I don’t know. Guess you’re one of the lucky ones,” Jared said, unable to suppress his grin. “Shit, if I’d known before, we could’ve had so much more time. Anyway, I’m gonna go get Doc Beaver and Doc Rhodes, okay? You just rest.”  
  
Jensen nodded, still a bit confused though, and Jared almost ran out of the room.  
  
  
When Jared finally got back to Jensen after hunting down Jim and Kim in the cafeteria, Felicia was sitting next to Jensen. He looked better, more alert and Ten was sitting in his lap while Felicia fiddled with his head, trying to get him upright.  
  
“Hey,” Jared said softly. “You look better.”  
  
Jensen tentatively smiled back. “Yeah, I feel better. Aldis and Beth were here a few minutes ago and they told me what happened. The longer version of it anyway.”  
  
Jared smiled sheepishly and walked over to the bed. “Yeah, sorry about that, I guess I got a bit excited.”  
  
“That’s okay,” Jensen said, and his voice was still a bit rough. “Hey, I haven’t had a chance to say thanks yet.”  
  
“Thanks?” Jared asked. “For what?”  
  
Jensen snorted. “For saving my life, stupid. Beth told me how you went after me. You risked your life, even though I was almost certainly dead, that… thanks.”  
  
“It wasn’t really a question, you know,” Jared said.  
  
“Oh look,” Felicia said, lifting up Ten. “Another thing to fix. C’mon buddy, let’s get out of here.” She gave Jared a hard stare in passing, but winked at the last moment. “Glad it all worked out,” she whispered and then she was out the door.  
  
Jared walked over to the bed, taking Felicia’s spot at Jensen's bedside. For a moment they just looked at each other, the air charged with something electric.  
  
Then Jensen laughed uncomfortably and looked away. “Don’t look at me like that. Gives me goosebumps.”  
  
“Good,” Jared said and leaned forwards. “Look, I never acted on my feelings, because I never wanted to ask you to do this for me, but Jen, I’ve always wanted you, from the first moment you barreled into me on that market. I’d never felt anything like it, you just blew me away and with every moment I spent with you, it just grew.”  
  
Jensen was staring at him, smile stretching his lips and Jared had never seen anything so beautiful. The moment was broken when Jim and Kim walked over to them.  
  
“Jensen, son, I’m Doctor Beaver. How are you?” Jim asked.  
  
“I feel fine,” Jensen answered. “I’m still a bit tired, but good. And hey, is it getting cold in here?”  
  
Jim laughed. “No, you’re just coming down from a fever. And being tired after a change is normal. Don’t worry about it.”  
  
“Actually,” Kim started and looked at the monitor, “I think you should take a look at this.”  
  
Jim went over to her and Jared stood up, looking at them monitor. Jensen's formerly normal pulse rate was now down to fifty-five.  
  
“Temperature is ninety-three,” Kim said, looking slightly alarmed. “What’s going on?”  
  
“No idea,” Jim mumbled, fiddling with the monitor. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”  
  
“What? What the hell is going on?” Jared asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.  
  
“I don’t know. We’ll have to keep him under observation,” Jim said.  
  
And they did. For the next hours they watched as Jensen's body temperature slowly, but surely sank, just like his heartbeat. They brought heating blankets and hot drinks, giving him pills to get his heart going, but nothing worked. Jensen’s vitals kept falling. He was in and out of consciousness and what he said when he was awake, was making less and less sense, his words becoming sluggish.  
  
For the first half hour, Jared paced the room like a caged animal until Jim threw him out. Then he paced the hallway. His crew was there, sitting quietly and still in the waiting room. Felicia was with them, a now repaired Ten sitting at her feet, rubbing his head comfortingly against her leg.  
  
When Jim came out of the room the next time, he looked at Jared and told him to go in. “I don’t know what's going on, but it seems there’s nothing I can do. He shouldn’t be alone now, so just try to be there for him.”  
  
“I just don’t get why,” Jared said desperately.  
  
“A late rejection of the change maybe. It’s oddly familiar, but I can’t remember when I ever saw something like this before, I’ll have to hit the archives. Go on now, Jensen needs a friend.”  
  
The room was warm. Curtains were separating Jensen’s bed from the others, but they couldn’t contain the heat they were trying to create to keep Jensen alive. Jensen was lying bundled up under a thermal blanket, but he was pale again, a blueish tint to his full lips. He was shaking slightly, but conscious and alert, smiling when Jared came in.  
  
“Hey Jay.”  
  
“Shhh,” Jared said. “Don’t talk.”  
  
He sat down next to Jensen again and it felt like an eternity since he’d sat there, happy and hopeful that Jensen was alive and a Lupus. Now, he was still a Lupus, but he was dying again. It couldn’t be happening.  
  
Carefully, he took Jensen’s hand. “If there’s anything I can do,” Jared said. “Call your parents maybe…”  
  
Jensen shook his head. “Your hand is so warm. Hold me?”  
  
Jared nodded and for a while they sat in silence.  
  
“I always,” Jensen started saying, voice weak and shaky. “Always… so tired, Jay.” Jensen’s eyes fell shut and Jared looked at the monitor. Heartbeat thirty-two and temperature fifty-six.  
  
“Cold,” Jensen breathed out, not opening his eyes.  
  
Jared rubbed his hands, stiff and cool in his, and he imagined Jensen gave a little sigh.  
  
“Screw this,” Jared mumbled and got up and sat down next to Jensen on the bed. Body heat was still the best way to warm someone up and even if he couldn’t save Jensen, this he could do for him.  
  
He gathered Jensen into his arms and slowly rubbed his back. “I got you,” he quietly spoke into his ear. “I got you, baby.”  
  
It was warm in the room and even hotter under the thermo blanket. Jared was sweating profusely, but he didn’t care. Not when Jensen’s teeth stopped clattering and he snuffled and molded himself against Jared’s body. He’d stay here, for however long it took. He wouldn’t let Jensen go again.  
  
Another look at the monitor told him that Jensen’s vitals had stabilized. They had stopped falling. So maybe… The monitor beeped and the fifty-six jumped to a fifty-eight. Jared’s heart gave a little jump, and he felt hope again. He wouldn’t let Jensen die.  
  
  
  
  
He was cold. Really, really freaking cold. Except where his body was touching Jared’s. A soft warmth was seeping into his skin there, so Jensen tried to get to it as closely as he could. Moving was hard though, his whole body felt sluggish and slow, limbs heavy and uncoordinated.  
  
Jared’s hand was slowly rubbing up and down his back, leaving a trail of warmth behind, and with his last strength Jensen managed to throw his leg over Jared’s. Better, that was better.  
  
Then Jared moved, jostling and gripping him and suddenly Jensen’s whole body seemed to slightly warm. Jared had pulled him almost on top of him, and his legs were bracketing Jensen’s hips. Jared’s strong legs were radiating heat all over his legs and his arms were encasing Jensen in a warm cocoon. It felt good, comfortable. Jensen felt himself smile as his mind slowly drifted off towards unconsciousness.  
  
He didn’t know how much time passed, he just knew that he was slowly warming up again, the cold disappearing from his body. He was awake and asleep, caught in that state in between. Vaguely, he was aware of people coming in and out of the room, talking quietly, but only Jared’s presence really registered with him. His voice was a low rumble under Jensen's ear resting on his chest. Jared’s hands were rubbing over his back or stroking his hair and Jensen had never been so content in his life.  
  
He truly woke up when Jared was gone. For a moment he was disoriented, before he remembered he was in a hospital bed. He’d been attacked - Ten going crazy, the rogue Lupi attacking, shots getting fired and then that hot breath against his neck, the sting of a needle, the fight and then a sharp blade cutting into into his chest before blessed unconsciousness pulled him under - and now he had transformed and miraculously survived.  
  
“Hey, how’re you feeling?”  
  
Jensen hadn’t even noticed Felicia sitting on the floor, fiddling around with Ten.  
  
“Good, I think,” he said and his throat hurt a little. “Can you get me some water?”  
  
She was up and at his bedside immediately. When he tried to sit up, he was still weak and his hands were shaking. The cup almost slipped through his fingers, because he couldn't really feel them.  
  
“So, how is being a Lupus?” Felicia asked, sitting down next to him.  
  
Jensen considered it for the first time. “Not that different, I think,” he said slowly. Carefully, he ran his tongue along his upper teeth, feeling his lengthened incisors, one of the few visual Lupus markers. “I don’t know. I never thought it would happen, but now that it has…”  
  
“Against your will,” Felicia threw in.  
  
Jensen nodded, but he smiled at her. “I never considered it because the chances of it going sideways were too big. But if it had been without risks, I would’ve done it immediately. I mean, it’s not like there’s a downside to being a Lupus...”  
  
“And on the upside, you can now mate with Jared,” Felicia finished for him.  
  
“If he wants to,” Jensen said. After all, Jared had never said he’d choose him. Sure, he’d desired Jensen, but that wasn’t the same.  
  
Felicia shook her head. “Trust me, he wants to. I’ve seen him pace this room, saw his face when he thought you would die. He loves you. And he was hell bent on going after those rogues again if you died.”  
  
“Yeah, well, would serve them right,” Jensen said, shivering, and Felicia agreed. “Just because it turned out w-w-well, d-d-doesn't give them the r-r-right-”  
  
“Jensen, you okay?” Felicia interrupted him, jumping up and walking over to the other side of the bed.  
  
“M’fine,” Jensen murmured and pulled the blanket up higher.  
  
“Is your temperature supposed to be at seventy-one?” Felicia asked looking at him with worry. “And you’re pulse is down to forty-nine. I’m calling the doc.”  
  
She was off in a flash, rushing over to the doctor’s station. Kim followed her back and she looked at Jensen in confusion.  
  
“But his vitals were rising again,” she said. “I don’t get it, what is going on here?”  
  
Suddenly Jared was there again. Jensen was hyper aware of him, the worry and anger radiating off of him and he could smell him even. His sense of smell was heightened anyway, things more distinct, but Jared stood out.  
  
Jared came over to his bed with long steps and took his hand. Jensen smiled at the warmth.  
  
“Fuck. Why are you so cold again?”  
  
Jensen shook his head. “N-no idea.”  
  
Jared immediately climbed into bed with him once more and Jensen gratefully curled into his warmth. He was shaking all over now, but as soon as their bodies touched, it was better. He was still cold and sleepy, but at least the shaking stopped.  
  
“Jared, stay with him,” Kim ordered. “I’m going to go get Jim, see if he came up with anything. Jensen, you rest.”  
  
Jensen wasn’t sure he could do anything else and with Jared’s presence, he fell asleep once again.  
  
  
Jensen woke to loud voices. His head was swimming and he felt cold, but at least Jared was still with him. He tried to concentrate on what people were saying, but it was all so very hazy.  
  
“...mates always help. We can only assume that’s what’s wrong with him.” That was Doctor Beaver talking.  
  
“I don’t understand,” Jared said. “He had the fever, he’s supposed to be fine now, not freeze to death.”  
  
Jensen seconded that. Freezing was bad. Doctor Beaver went on with explaining stuff, but Jensen was too out of it to really focus. He caught single words and phrases, something about mates and healing, and incomplete bonds, but really, it didn’t make a lot of sense to Jensen’s befuddled brain.  
  
“Fuck, Jim, do I look like I fucking care about your science mumbo jumbo? No! I wanna know what this means for Jensen!” Jared’s voice was loud and sharp and Jensen was so tuned in on him anyway, he had no trouble understanding his words.  
  
“You have to mate him to make him whole,” Kim said. “And you have to hurry. His vitals were stable for a while, too low, but at least not falling, but now look at them. Slowly they’re going down again. First sunrise was a few hours ago. It’s the day of the kissing suns, the perfect day to mate.”  
  
“Yes,” Doctor Beaver said. “Take Jensen out to the Solaris Square. Mate him under the two suns, it’s probably the only way to save him.”  
  
There was silence then and Jensen tried to concentrate. Mate, Jared would have to mate him. It was everything he’d wanted, and now it seemed within reach. If only Jared would agree.  
  
“Jen?” Jared’s voice ripped him out of his thoughts and then Jared pulled away from him.  
  
Jensen reached for him, tried to get close to his warmth again, but Jared took his face into his hands and forced him to look at him. It was hard to focus his eyes, they drifted over Jared’s features aimlessly.  
  
“Jensen? C’mon baby, look at me!”  
  
There was something in Jared’s voice, an urgency bordering on desperation that finally helped Jensen focus.  
  
“I need to know you want this. Please tell me you want this, because I cannot let you die. You hear me? I will not let you die!”  
  
There was something off about Jared’s eyes, they were blurry. It took Jensen a few moments to realize that Jared’s eyes were wet with unshed tears. Jensen froze, he’d never seen Jared cry before and it broke his heart. A single tear ran down Jared’s cheek and he didn’t bother to wipe it away.  
  
“Please tell me it’s okay, Jensen, please! I love you so much baby, and now we finally have a shot.”  
  
Jensen tried to form the words, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate.  
  
Jared’s eyes were full of desperation and his fingers were digging hard on the back of Jensen's skull. He focused on that touch, the heat radiating out from the tips of Jared’s fingers.  
  
“Yes,” he managed to get out.  
  
“Thank fuck,” Jared breathed out and then he kissed him.  
  
The touch of Jared’s lips set Jensen’s mouth on fire. Tingling flashes of heat shot through his lips and he couldn’t get enough of it, moving his own lips frantically, sucking on Jared’s to get as much warmth and closeness as he could.  
  
He couldn’t help but whimper when Jared pulled back.  
  
“Hey, shh, it’s okay, I’m not going anywhere. Or well, I am, but you’re coming with me,” Jared said, smiling at him reassuringly.  
  
Then Jensen got out of the bed and picked Jensen up into his arms. He carried him out of the hospital like he weighed nothing. There was a glider waiting for them when they got outside and Jared sat down with Jensen still in his arms and started it up.  
  
“Hold on,” Jared ordered, and Jensen tried.  
  
The flight was a jumbled mess of cold wind, not enough touch and Jared muttering soothing nonsense into his ear. Jensen thought he must’ve lost consciousness a few times, and when they reached the Square, he had trouble keeping his eyes open.  
  
  
Distantly, he was aware of all the people gathered in the square, the music playing, but the only thing he could focus on were Jared’s hands on his body. He was carrying him again now, through all the people. Jensen tried to keep his eyes open, but he was tired, and his eyelids felt so heavy, he saw only flashes of bright light through his lashes, Lupi passing, and kissing, flashes of naked skin. He heard people talk and sing, heard them moan and scream.  
  
The ceremony. It was difficult to think, but this one thing, the one thing he’d always wanted to be a part of but never could, he knew that was what was happening. The two suns, positioned in their sky like they were touching - kissing - and the day the Lupi celebrated their unions.  
  
They bumped into someone and Jensen’s head lolled back over Jared’s arms. Jared cursed, but this time Jensen paid no attention to it. He looked up at the sky, saw the two giant balls of glowing yellow fire, almost side by side, lighting up the pale blue sky. Their heat gave the planet life, just like Jared’s warmth was keeping him alive.  
  
Then the heat was gone, instead coldness was seeping into his back. Jared had put him down on a hard surface, but he was leaning over him, stroking his face.  
  
“Hold on, okay?” It was phrased like a question, but Jensen knew Jared was begging. Begging him to stay alive.  
  
“It’s not long now, they’ll align soon and then we can mate and you'll be fine okay? Just, you have to be fine, Jen, you hear me?”  
  
Jared leaned down to kiss him, hard and deep, and yeah, Jensen was pretty sure he’d be fine. Heat was shooting through him, from his mouth directly down his spine, sending short bursts of warmth through his body before the cold took hold again.  
  
His eyes closed on their own accord, but with the world dark around him, he could focus on Jared’s soothing touch and the sudden silence around them. Words filled it, low and deep, carrying over the square, but Jensen didn’t understand them, couldn’t make out their meaning. He knew it was the ritual intonation, but it didn’t matter, he didn’t need to hear them. He knew what they meant and yes, he wanted Jared to take him, make them one and be together forever.  
  
The flutes started up again then, their vibrations carrying through the air, shaking Jensen to his very core. Then Jared kissed him and Jensen’s eyes flew open for a moment, took in the way Jared’s eyes were desperately closed, his long hair was falling into his face and then he gave in and his own eyes fell shut. There was just Jared, so warm and alive, kissing him.  
  
Jared’s kisses were thawing Jensen's body out of his trance, and finally he was able to lift his arms again and touch. He ran them over Jared’s broad back, felt his strong muscles clench and tighten, let them wander down further to grip Jared’s ass. It felt perfect and Jared’s response was immediate, groaning and bucking hard against Jensen.  
  
It made a surge of want shoot through Jensen, crackling through his whole body for a moment, the proof of Jared’s desire, hard and hot against his stomach. Jensen felt his body respond, his own dick slowly filling with blood and there was a gentle warmth spreading through his stomach. It pushed the cold away, and with every one of Jared’s kisses, every touch and hot breath gushing over Jensen’s skin, he felt warmer and warmer. Under his hands, Jared was burning and Jensen’s body responded in kind. When Jared trailed his lips down his neck, leaving hot kisses in their wake and bit down into his shoulder, a single flash of heat shot through his body, powerful enough to chase away most of the remaining cold.  
  
His heartbeat finally caught up, thumping fast and erratic in his chest.  
  
“Oh thank suns, fuck, you’re okay, you’re back,” Jared rambled into the skin above Jensen's heart, kissing the scars there. They were burning, Jensen being able to feel the X-shaped cut on his skin. The heat made a stark contrast to the rest of his body and to his horror, Jensen realized that the warmth was giving way. The numbing cold was again creeping up, from the tips of his toes until his entire feet were cold.  
  
“Not enough, Jay, still cold.”  
  
Jared looked at him, eyes wide, but then they narrowed in determination. “Don’t worry, not gonna let you die. Gonna make you mine, and then no one can take you away from me.”  
  
Hot hands flew over his body and Jensen arched up into them, but they weren’t touching him. No, Jared was ripping of his clothes, baring his skin to the cool air.  
  
“Suns, you’re so fucking beautiful,” Jared said, voice full of reverence, trailing a hand softly down Jensen’s chest.  
  
Jensen was still hard, still wanting despite the cold encroaching again and he lifted his hips up and spread his legs out on the cool stone surface, inviting Jared in.  
  
“C’mon, Jared, need you.”  
  
Jared eyes went dark and he nodded, lips pulling apart in a smile, his incisors showing. “Yeah, don't worry, baby, I gotcha.”  
  
He surged down, kissing Jensen hard and deep, sucking and biting on his full bottom lip, until it felt swollen and tender. Jensen tried to keep up, needing to feel Jared as close as possible. Jared’s hand were all over him, running over every part of his body, squeezing his ass and fingers digging into his hips, grinding their dicks together. But Jensen needed more, needed skin on skin.  
  
He started tugging on Jared’s clothes, but his fingers still weren’t obeying him a hundred percent, still too weak to open the buckles on Jared’s pants. He was wearing the dark, heavy duty patrol outfit, thick material in the camouflaging greys of their planet’s surface. It was smoking hot, but rather impractical for quick undressing.  
  
“Off,” Jensen ordered. “Take ‘em off.”  
  
“Bossy,” Jared chuckled and pulled his shirt off. “Good to see your sassy self back.”  
  
Jensen couldn't reply, he was too busy staring. It wasn’t like he’d never seen Jared without his shirt, but he’d never been so close, and now he was allowed to stare. Could indulge himself without knowing Jared was off-limits. Then Jared took off his boots and his pants and now Jensen was seeing something that he’d really never seen before, only hints of an outline under bathing shorts and holy shit, it was good to see Jared was big all over.  
  
He reached out, hands still slightly out of focus, but he managed to grip Jared’s dick, feel the hot and hard flesh under his hands.  
  
“Fuck. Jen, you’re killing me here, we can’t - we have to-”  
  
“Then get your hot ass down here,” Jensen said and grinned.  
  
Jared cursed and leaned down, gripping Jensen’s hips and then flinging him around, pulling him up on hands and knees before he could catch his breath.  
  
“Oh fuck.” It was spoken so low, Jensen almost missed it, but then Jared put his hands on his ass and squeezed. “So fucking perfect.”  
  
Jensen pushed back, because without Jared’s touch, the cold came back full force, sending shivers of the nasty kind down his spine.  
  
“Jared, c’mon. I’m getting whiplash here from the temperature swings.”  
  
“Shit, sorry, I’m so sorry, baby,” Jared mumbled out. “Stupid, so stupid. Okay, Jared focus.”  
  
If his life wasn’t at stake, Jensen might have laughed. As it was, he just pushed back, moaning when Jared moved his hands, fingers stroking between his crack until they reached his hole. Jensen suddenly became aware of that place between his legs that felt different than ever before.  
  
It felt empty and wanting, clenching around nothing, because it needed something, needed Jared, and when thick fingers softly rubbed over it, a deep warm satisfaction spread through him.  
  
He tensed for a moment when he felt a strange wetness, but when Jared groaned out a low “yes” Jensen remembered what he’d heard about omega Lupi, about how changed humans became compatible mates if they survived the change.  
  
But it didn’t really matter anymore, not when Jared leaned down and licked over his opening, tongue massaging the rim and dipping teasingly inside. Heat literally exploded through his lower belly and his thoughts narrowed down to _want_ and _need_.  
  
“Fuck, Jared, please. Need you, need you to, shit, please, fuck me, gotta fuck me now!” Jensen didn’t know what he was saying, not that it mattered, the only thing was getting Jared to fuck him, to _mate_ him, and he didn’t care what he’d have to say to get it.  
  
It seemed he was doing just fine, because Jared pulled back and his voice was shaky, when he said, “Yeah, fuck yeah. Gonna mate you, make you mine, suns, Jensen, gonna mark you up and you’ll be mine, only mine, forever.”  
  
The words made Jensen moan and push back. He needed Jared to possess him, just as he would possess Jared. He almost sighed out in relief, when there was a hot thickness pressing against his opening, his new wetness easing the way. It still burned, but the good kind, when Jared pushed inside, and Jensen welcomed the slight pain that came with the intrusion. Jared went slow at first, until he was about halfway in and then, as if he couldn’t control himself anymore he shoved in with one fast move.  
  
They both groaned when Jared bottomed out, filling Jensen so completely he couldn’t focus on any other sensation. There was just Jared, so unbelievably hot inside of him, and Jensen could swear he could feel him pulse inside of him in sync with his heartbeat.  
  
Jared mumbled unintelligible nonsense behind him, having gone completely still and it gave Jensen time to adjust to it. He was also able to focus on other things now, the heat spreading through his whole body, pushing out the cold, until even his fingertips and toes were warm. When Jared pulled back and pushed back in, Jensen responded, body finally moving how he wanted it. He could push his hips back in time with Jared’s thrusts, could even dig his fingers into the soft moss covering part of the stone to hold on with all his strength when Jared started to pound into him. Every thrust sent a new wave of heat through his body, and Jensen’s muscles strained to stay in place. He welcomed the sweat running down his face and his back and so did Jared, when he leaned over him and licked across his neck.  
  
“Shit, taste so good,” Jared mumbled and then bit down. It stung and Jensen felt his hot blood run down his side, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care when Jared’s hands gripped his hips tight enough to bruise and his nails to break the skin and he didn’t care when his ass started feeling raw and used.  
  
He was alive, and Jared was claiming him, taking him, every deep push of his dick sending sparks of pleasure up Jensen’s spine, setting his whole body on fire in the good way. He pushed back, trying to get more, get harder and deeper. He had to lean down onto his elbows, but the new angle allowed Jared to go even deeper. His throat started feeling raw and it was only then that Jensen realized he was moaning, Jared’s name spilling from his lips.  
  
Jared gripped him even tighter, dick pushing in deeper. “Yes, c’mon, be mine, say you’ll be mine.”  
  
“Yours, only yours,” Jensen managed to croak out.  
  
Then Jared reached around his chest and pulled him back, pulling his legs outwards so that he sank down helplessly on Jared’s dick. His knees scraped over the hard stone, but Jensen didn’t give a shit, the pain only fueling his desire.  
  
Lips trailed over his neck, and teeth dug in. Jared whispered into his ear, “They can all see you now, see how you’re mine. Look at them!”  
  
Jensen forced his eyes open and saw all the Lupi in the square. Most of them were fucking, just like they were, so lost in their own ecstasy they were only glancing at them, but at the fringes he saw the unmated ones and the humans who had come to witness, saw them looking. A faceless mass of people, all knowing that he was Jared’s now.  
  
“And you’re mine,” Jensen said and turned his head, pulling Jared’s head towards him until their lips met. The kiss was messy and harsh, more biting and tugging, like they were trying to eat each other alive.  
  
“Yes, yours,” Jared agreed breathlessly, “always yours.”  
  
It wasn’t enough for Jensen though, he felt the churning need to put his own mark on Jared and he twisted his head further, until he could press his lips against Jared’s neck. For a moment, he just sucked at it, making Jared moan, and then he bit down harshly. Jared screamed and his blood flooded Jensen’s mouth, the taste so potent, so Jared, it soothed Jensen’s possessive side.  
  
“Fuck, Jensen,” Jared panted, raising one arm around Jensen's upper body and pressing him against Jared’s chest. “Satisfied?”  
  
“Almost,” Jensen ground out, bearing down on Jared’s dick. It felt good, really fucking good, but it wasn’t enough. “C’mon, Jay.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jared agreed quietly and the strength of his thrusts intensified. If Jensen were still human, he’d have a few broken bones right now, but as it was, he only felt satisfying bruises forming.  
  
The second sun had risen, but Jensen only noticed it when the light around them was so bright, it was almost blinding. The sun’s warm rays were hitting his naked skin, giving almost as much warmth as Jared behind him. It felt as if the two sources of heat were fusing together, Jared’s and the sun’s, climbing higher and higher until Jensen felt like he was burning up.  
  
Then he became aware of a new feeling. Jared’s dick was getting bigger, swelling up and pressing against Jensen’s opening. He knew this was what he needed, this was what he craved and he forced his hips down with more strength, needing to get Jared’s knot inside. The stretch was almost too much, too big, but the sound Jared made behind him, a low and broken moan, it shot through him and when Jared’s knot rubbed against his insides, the pleasure just grew impossibly high until, with one last shove, Jensen came. Jared came right with him, hoarsely shouting out his name, and dick twitching inside of him.  
  
Heat flooded his body like never before, and his vision almost whitened out. It surged through his body for the longest time, before it was gone and left a tingling warmth behind, his muscles loose and relaxed. Content, he leaned into Jared, his mate.  
  
Jared was just as satisfied as he was, Jensen could feel it in the way his body relaxed, and in the new presence right there in his mind.  
  
Jared hummed and nuzzled into his neck. “Mate,” he mumbled and slumped down over Jensen.  
  
It took him by surprise and Jared was rather heavy, so he fell forward, taking Jared with him. He managed to catch himself before he crashed face first into the rock, but it was a close call.  
  
Jared just snuggled in, blanketing Jensen’s body with his own. “Sorry. You’re really comfy though.”  
  
Jensen snorted, but decided to bask in the afterglow for a while, pleasure still thrumming through his veins. Besides, he had to get used to this new link between them, Jared being not only physically but also mentally there with him. It didn’t feel like an intrusion though, it just felt right.  
  
  
  
  
Jared had never been so happy in his life. Jensen was alive, a Lupus and as of three minutes ago, his mate. They were lying fucked out on a rock under the two suns, their combined heat warming them better than any blanket ever could. Their telepathic link was slowly forming and it wouldn’t be long before he’d be able to understand Jensen completely.  
  
Jensen’s back was a warm pillow for his head and his knot tied them together in the most intimate way. It was perfect except for how Jensen had gone completely still under him.  
  
“Hey, Jen, you okay?”  
  
Jensen huffed. “I will be, when you get your heavy, sweaty ass off of me,” he grouched. “Seriously Jay, you’re suffocating me with all your heat.”  
  
Jared didn’t know if he should laugh or cry, but in the end, he decided on the laugh. Chuckling, he rolled to the side, taking Jensen with him. “No can do, baby. Tied together, remember?” he asked and wiggled his hips a bit.  
  
They both groaned, the friction almost too much, but then Jensen pressed back against Jared’s chest.  
  
“Hmm yeah,” Jensen hummed out. “I think I might like that.”  
  
“Even though I’m heavy and sweaty and smelly?” Jared teased.  
  
Jensen hummed again. “Yeah. I can live with that I think. Trust me, I’ll take heat over coldness anyday.”  
  
“Good. Cause it’s not even midday yet, we still have the hottest hours of the day ahead of us. And I plan on making use of every single one of them.”  
  
Jensen pushed his hips back. Jared’s softening dick twitched with renewed interest and he circled his hips. “You keep that up, my knot won’t ever go down.”  
  
“That’s the plan,” Jensen said and his voice had dropped another register. “With the way they’re all watching, seems like they’re expecting another show.”  
  
Jared raised his head and looked at the other couples. Like them, the majority had already gone the first round, and now they were lying and sitting in knotted bliss on the rocks. Most of them were watching with hungry eyes, and Jared was torn between the desire to cover Jensen up and keep him just to himself, and the pride of showing off his mate. When Jensen flexed his muscles and clamped his inner walls down on Jared’s dick, the decision was made.  
  
“Then let’s honor the suns again, shall we?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
